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The DecemberistsAlbums ReviewedCastaways And Cutouts (2002)Her Majesty The Decemberists (2003) The Tain (2004) Picaresque (2005) The Crane Wife (2007) Castaways And Cutouts(2002)Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the Decemberists, led by donkey voiced Colin Meloy, have been nothing if not prolific, with a major release each year since this 2003 debut. I don't really buy the Neutral Milk Hotel comparisons that the group are constantly given; while Meloy's voice is similar to Jeff Magmum's, and both bands operate in an acoustic, folk-influenced, Indie genre, there's a detached, scholarly quality to The Decemberists that's quite distinct from the unhinged stream of consciousness of Neutral Milk Hotel, a much more contrived effort to recreate a mid 19th century Charles Dickens novel or sea shanty. And despite any similarities, The Decemberists have plenty of musicality to make them special in their own right, with their inventive chord sequences and creative musicianship with tasteful organ work that adds another dimension to the group's sound. There's currently a backlash against Indie acts like The Decemberists and Sufjan Stevens, and the criticism that both make music that's more like a school research project than a genuine outpouring of the soul is somewhat valid, but their offbeat musical personalities are much more unique and than another emo kid mining well worn lyrical territory. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that Castaways And Cutouts is one of the most assured debut records I've heard, with a distinctive style all but fleshed out immediately. 'Leslie Anne Levine' is a perfect, evocative opener ("My name is Leslie Anne Levine/My mother birthed me down a dry ravine/My mother birthed me far too soon/Born at nine and dead at noon"), with a nice chord sequence that sets the tone for the rest of the record, 'Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect' skims along on pretty guitar arpeggios and warm organ textures, while 'July, July!' is as close as the band come to a rock song. 'Odalisque' and 'Cocoon' are both gorgeous, and while 'Grace Cathedral Hill' isn't the best song written about the San Francisco landmark (see the Red House Painters first self titled record) it's still heartfelt and The ten minute closer 'California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade' is also extremely convincing, although in reality it's just two shorter songs joined together. A couple of the accordion based pieces ('Legionaire's Lament', 'A Cautionary Song') aren't as pleasantly engaging as the rest of the record, but they also play an important role in shaping the band's identity. By the same token, the reason that Castaways And Cutouts is my favourite Decemberists album to date is that it largely eschews gimmicky tracks in favour of good, solid song writing; basically this is a fantastic record that's easily one of my favourites from this decade. 
Her Majesty The Decemberists(2003)After the freshness of Castaways And Cutouts, there's something less appealing about sophomore effort Her Majesty The Decemberists, as if the band let their mid-nineteenth century Victoriana whimsy and literary pretensions overwhelm the record somewhat. In the former category, the salty opener 'Shanty For The Arethusa' has an appealingly epic quality, and 'The Chimbley Sweep' hops along nicely on its accordion groove, but both can be grating and both feel like the band is on the verge of parodying itself. In the latter category, it's almost as if the band indulge themselves in bizarre dictionary games; for instance, sitting around after a show, guitarist Chris Funk pulls his dictionary out, and he's all like "Colin, I bet you can't possibly use the word "Pantaloons" in a song", and Colin's all like "So rough they culled you from a cartoon/Pulled out of your pantaloons." Meloy's also the only songwriter audacious enough to use the phrase "Finiculi, finicula, finiculi, finicula" as a hook line. Generally his literary pretensions are pleasantly diverting; it's only when the music's grating that it can begin to cause problems, and most of the time it's fun to hear a band challenging themselves without taking themselves overly seriously. Still, this album lacks the smoggy atmosphere of the first album; there are good songs here still, especially as most of standouts are more in the vein of the first album, but some of it also seems more forced. More than any of their eccentricities, it's the band's musicality and ability to create interesting chord sequence that's their defining quality. 'The Bachelor And The Bride' is a case in point, with another great chord progression, propulsive acoustic guitar, great support parts with warm organ and guitar arpeggios, all adding up to create a subtly masterful song, that also references the title of a Bryan Ferry album in its hook line. The catchy 'Los Angeles, I'm Yours' opens into a fantastic string break mid song, 'Billy Liar' grooves along nicely on its piano base, 'Song For Myla Goldberg' is energetic and infectious, and 'Red Right Ankle' is stripped back and affecting. More problematically 'Shanty For The Arethusa' does set an interesting tone, but also drags, unless you really like sea shanties, while the low-key closer 'As I Rise' isn't particularly convincing either. The two seven minute songs both have their moments, but neither is engrossing the whole way through like the better short songs are. Her Majesty The Decemberists was my first Decemberists album; while it's very representative of the band, it's also not a good place to start. If anything it's too representative of the band, overemphasising their eccentricities to such an extent that it almost overshadows the actual musical content.
 The Tain(2004)A one song EP recorded in two days might seem negligible, but the one song that constitutes The Tain is a genuine tour de force, an eighteen minute, five part, suite based on an ancient Welsh legend. If all that sounds like a throwback to the heyday of seventies progressive rock, that's precisely correct - The Tain is the Decemberist equivalent to Genesis' 'Supper Ready' or the first half of Jethro Tull's 'Thick As A Brick'. If a comparison to canonised works by men with admittedly much longer beards seems hyperbolic, The Tain is an extremely coherent, memorable concept record that meets its goals perfectly. It's evident that Meloy et al are fans of such earlier works, and they've got the structure and feeling of the progressive rock suite down pat; rolling through an ominous opening section, head banging second part, mournful third part, fruity fourth part, and ending with a suitably rousing climax. The beauty of such a long song is that it allows scope for much more extremity than on regular four minute songs - for instance, a huge dramatic climax that wouldn't be feasible in a four minute pop song, unless you're Celine Dion, is necessary here and it's executed brilliantly. The electric riffs of Part II are far heavier than anything else in The Decemberists catalogue, with some great fills from Blumberg, while Blumberg also gets a sole writing credit and vocal on the fourth section. Sure, the story's difficult to follow, and you probably don't want to pay too much for a sub-twenty minute EP, but this is a great little record that's quintessentially Decemberists yet substantively different than anything else in their catalogue.
Picaresque(2005)Like Her Majesty The Decemberists, Picaresque is all over the place compared with the tightly focused debut. Unlike Her Majesty, the best songs here are often when they depart the furthest from the previous Decemberists style; while it's slightly worrying that they might be losing some identity and becoming more of a generic Indie rock band, there's enough diversity and personality here to suggest that The Decemberists have a brand that's recognisable even when they're not doing sea shanties. Compared to Her Majesty these songs are far less complex - apart from the multi-part 'The Bagman's Gambit' and the lengthy 'Mariner's Revenge Song', these songs are mostly normal verse/chorus structures. The group also use more outside musicians than before, with orchestration, and a horn section on '16 Military Wives'. The net result is The Decemberists' most accessible album yet - with less archaic lyrics and less braying vocals, some of these songs sound like they could be potential radio hits. The most accessible material includes the gorgeous, acoustic 'The Engine Driver', with its harmonised "If you don't love me/Let me go" chorus, and 'On The Bus Mall' which mines a similar acoustic vein. Less characteristically, '16 Military Wives' and 'The Sporting Life' are both upbeat and infectious, the former with nonsensical lyrics, a fantastic Fender Rhodes groove, and a punchy, horn driven chorus ("If America says it's so/It's so/And the anchor person on TV/Goes la de da de da"), while the latter feels like a Decemberists take on a sixties Motown groove. 'The Infanta' does a much better job of the dramatic album opener than 'Shanty For The Aretheusa' did on the previous record, while 'We Both Go Down Together' is punctated by a beautiful string part. Unfortunately, there is one major misstep on Picaresque in the form of the nautical shaggy dog tale 'The Mariner's Revenge Song'; while it is entertaining, it is very reliant on its narrative for effect, so that once the listener knows how the story ends it loses some impact. Perhaps not coincidentally, the other nautically themed track, 'From My True Love (Lost At Sea)' is the other most problematic song here., riding a thin line between haunting and grating. Like their previous full length, Picaresque can be frustrating - there are some genuinely inspired songs here, but tracks like 'The Mariner's Revenge Song' can be difficult to sit through and this album is more patchy than it needs to be from a vibrant band seemingly at the peak of their powers.
The Crane Wife(2007)The Crane Wife is the Decemberists' first album with major label Capitol, and while it placed higher on the US charts than any of their previous efforts, otherwise it's business as usual for the band. If anything, The Crane Wife is more cohesive than anything since Castaways and Cutouts, as if a bigger recording budget has allowed the band more time to develop their ideas. This impression is helped by the two pieces that bookend the album and set the tone; the opening 'The Crane Wife 3' and closing 'Sons and Daughters' are both based around acoustic, folk arrangements. The record centres on two song cycles, The Crane Wife and The Island – the former a Japanese folk tale, and the latter based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. The shorter songs that make up the rest of the album aren't thematically connected as far as I can tell, and feel much more like the album tracks from Picaresque, but mostly they're top notch and largely acoustic based, which means they fit in just fine. The absolute highlight, however, on The Crane Wife is the twelve minute prog-rock opus, 'The Island', which is almost as awesome as The Tain, but instead of being on a record all by its lonesome, it shares space with lots of other choice songs. The two parts of the title track (confusingly, 'The Crane Wife 3' opens the record) are wistful and acoustic, and altogether the two song cycles take up nearly half of the hour long record. Among the shorter songs, the call and response vocals of 'Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)', the heavy electric grind of 'When The War Came', and the jaunty, spry 'Summersong' are all highlights. 'The Perfect Crime #2' is perhaps the most problematic song, it's fine, but too different in mood from the rest of the record to fit in - reminiscent of the similarly themed 'Robbery, Assault and Battery' from Genesis' A Trick Of The Tail, also my least favourite track on its respective album. The Crane Wife doesn't quite feel like a perfect album, partly perhaps because the group didn't go right through with the original concept, but it's one of the finest in the Decemberists' catalogue, and one of the best records of 2006.
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Written 2001-2009, Graham Fyfe
